The Continued Bizarreness of High End Designer Brands
At this point, the only people buying logo clothing from high end brands are Asians and Middle Easterners (with some delusional gay shop bottoms thrown in for good measure) but it is still amazing the markup they get on many items.
Take this pair of shorts.
Not just "shorts" but drawstring waist sweat shorts.
The sort of thing you wear around the house, as pajamas, or maybe to walk the dog.
But because these are from Balmain, they are $600.
Bonus Points: If you saw them without a description and were told to guess whether they came from Saks or Walmart, you'd have a tough time of it. In fact, I suspect you could find something very similar at Walmart in their Kid Rock collection.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 11 | June 9, 2021 9:09 PM
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Where is the fucking LOGO at? I don't buy that shit without a big LOGO!
by Anonymous | reply 1 | June 8, 2021 5:35 PM
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I usually shop at Saks Fifth Avenue with a pair of scissors and a large empty shopping bag.
by Anonymous | reply 2 | June 8, 2021 5:36 PM
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If you look at the fourth product shot photo at link, R1, you will see that "Balmain Paris" is embossed in billboard-high lettering down the side of the shorts.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | June 8, 2021 5:45 PM
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R3 That is too subtle. I need the logo in a contrasting color so it can be read from across a party or street.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | June 8, 2021 6:22 PM
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These dont look like they could be confused for around the house sweatpants shorts.
There's a lot of clothes out there that are for extremely rich teenagers, rappers, etc. Balmain probably only sells a few thousand pieces of any item worldwide, maybe even less...but if a piece catches on they can make more, its not like they're numbered and limited edition.
I once saw a ridiculous pair of (I think) Gucci metallic purple studded high tops. I asked the sales guy what anyone would wear those for and he said for a red carpet/MTV/Nickelodeon awards show type of thing.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | June 8, 2021 10:45 PM
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As noted R5 the market is not in the US or Western Europe but mostly in China and the Middle East. They may well sell one or two of any item to a rapper in need of something to wear on the red carpet, too.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | June 8, 2021 11:54 PM
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R6 I wonder if the more exotic pieces from luxury brands only serve to make their regular stuff seem more palatable. The $1500 purple studded gucci hightops drew me to the shelf, i looked at them, and all of a sudden i was in the gucci section looking at their shoes.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | June 9, 2021 4:02 PM
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One of the first things you learn in economics class is the fraud of branding. May have been relevant 50 years ago - but with corporate takeovers and hypercapitalism, brand names are just an excuse to charge more. People are catching on in First World countries. Hence disposable clothing.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | June 9, 2021 4:27 PM
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I suspect these things are like the massively expensive items you see on some high-end Vegas restaurant menus - like the thousand dollar burger with gold leaf on the bun. They aren't intended to sell, they're intended to make the second and third most expensive items on the menu seem more affordable.
So if you don't want the purple metallic Gucchi shoes, maybe they'll draw you into the Gucchi section, and maybe they'll sell a few more of their shoes which are overpriced, but which can be worn on the street.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | June 9, 2021 8:54 PM
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If you have an eye, you're not going to confuse them with something from Walmart.
The hardware, the zips and metal trim are high end. And the cloth, lining and overall workmanship is not going to look bargain basement.
Worth $500? The people who'll buy these have money to burn.
And it's true, their customers are going to be Chinese, Middle Easterners, Russians. There is a lot of money out there.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | June 9, 2021 9:06 PM
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